There have been no full reviews of the 2017 Tesla Model 3 to date by automotive media outlets, meaning professional test drivers spend a few days with the car putting it through a standard battery of tests.
A few early video reviews, apparently by owners, have also vanished from the Internet, leading to various theories about what owners must legally agree to before taking delivery.
Now, however, we have another video walkaround of the Model 3 that’s survived for two weeks—so it seems likely to stay.
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It comes from Matt Pressman of Evannex, a supplier of aftermarket accessories for Tesla electric cars.
The 26-minute video goes through virtually all aspects of the Model 3 and, notably, compares it to the larger and pricier Model S, Tesla’s highest-volume vehicle.
The review gives a good sense of the similarities and differences between Tesla’s flagship Model S, now in its sixth model year, and the lower-priced Model 3 now struggling into mass production.
Video review of Tesla Model 3 electric car by Matt Pressman of Evannex [frame from YouTube video]
For those considering purchasing a Tesla, including first-time buyers, Pressman attempts to answer the question: Which one?
The Model 3, he notes, shows how the Silicon Valley electric-car maker has “elevated its interior design capabilities and improved the integration of features, functionality, and storage.”
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Pressman prefers the hatchback design of the larger Model S to the trunk of the Model 3, a more tradition sedan in that sense, though equipped with a fold-down rear seat so that long objects can be carried.
The Model 3 wins for driver visibility and its center console, a feature entirely missing from the first few years of Model S production.
2018 Tesla Model 3
It also includes coat hooks, various small compartments for storage, seat-back pockets, and a rear-seat armrest—indicating that Tesla has stepped up its cabin-design chops considerably over the year.
On the other hand, the Model 3 gets dinged for its door handles, which you might think would be a pretty simple piece of hardware.
On the less-expensive Tesla, you push and rotate the flush-fitting handles, then grab the lever to pull the door open.
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It’s nowhere near as elegant as the famous self-presenting door handles on the Model S, which slide out as the driver gets near the car.
Both the six-year-old Model S and the brand-new Model 3 “will turn heads,” Pressman summarizes, adding that “both are the epitome of current automotive technology”—but they’re targeted at different buyers.
In the end, perhaps not too surprisingly, he concludes that the cabin space, looks, materials and feel, and performance of the Model S mean that it “wins going away.”
[hat tip: David Noland]
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